Topsfield Public Works

The Water Department's operating budget is designed to cover the day to day operations of the department.  It contains funds to pump, treat, test and distribute a certain volume of water based on anticipated expenses.  The operating budget has the following sections:

1. Salaries - The salary and longevity bonus for the superintendent are paid for in this section.
2. Wages - The hourly wages and longevity for the remaining Water Department staff is paid for from this section.  Also included are funds for non-Water Department employees that assist with after hours water main repairs and hydrant flushing.
3. Other - This section covers most of the non-labor related costs including water treatment & supplies, water testing, energy, normal water system maintenance materials & supplies, leak detection survey costs, well field maintenance, backflow device testing, annual Massachusetts Department of Environmental Volume Assessment ( $8.50 per million gallons withdrawn), vehicle maintenance, building maintenance, office supplies, bill & form printing, postage, software maintenance, safety gear, water meter supplies, security system expenses, telephone, legal advertising, non-emergency police details plus others.  This section also contains an unfunded line item for the emergency repair of water main breaks.  All emergency related expenses are charged to this line item and if a point is reached where the expenses can not be covered by savings in other areas then funds are transferred, with the approval of the Finance Committee, from the Unanticipated Emergency Fund.

The Water Department operates as a separate enterprise so there are a few additional sections in the budget that do not appear in other departmental budgets.  They are:

1. Indirect Costs -These costs are expenses that were incurred and paid for by the Town on behalf of the Water Department during a previous fiscal year.  They include costs associated with pension, health care, insurance, auditing as well as a percentage of labor costs in the Accounting, Treasurer/Collector, Assessors and Procurement Departments.  There is a 2 year delay in these costs.  An example is the indirect costs value in the FY2012 Water Department budget are for costs incurred by the Town during FY2010.
2. Unanticipated Emergency Fund - This fund is used to cover emergency repairs or replacement of water system components.  Typically it is used for water main repairs.
3. Reserve Fund - This fund is essentially the Department's savings account.  It is intended to be the minimum amount saved towards future capital expenses each fiscal year.  The fund was reduced by $12,000 in FY2012, along with reductions in the operating budget,  to reduce the effect of new long term debt payments on water rates.  It was as high as $125,000 in FY2006.

Additional information concerning specific fiscal years will be posted as time permits.

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